Montreal police used all-terrain vehicles and its cavalry unit as part of their search for 10-year-old Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou, who went missing from his family home in Ahuntsic-Cartierville at noon Monday.

Officers on horseback, firefighters and concerned citizens spent much of the day Wednesday trudging through deep snow in parks adjacent to Rivière-des-Prairies. The missing boy was last seen in a riverfront park — close to his home and the home of a friend he had planned on visiting.

A woman who spoke to Ariel in Parc des Bateliers at 2 p.m. on Monday told police that Ariel looked sad because his friend wasn’t home and they couldn’t play together.

“She is a credible witness and we have no reason to doubt that she spoke to him,” said Inspector André Durocher of the Montreal police. “That allowed us to confirm the last place he was seen.”

Surveillance camera screen grab of missing 10-year-old Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou taken from a gas station on Gouin Blvd. on Monday afternoon. Facebook.

Police are trying to retrace the missing boy’s path from his friend’s house to the park on Gouin Blvd., hoping to find “a piece of clothing or a footprint to guide us,” Durocher said.

The heavy snowfall overnight Tuesday has made that job more difficult. Divers were unable to enter the river because the current is too strong, but police boats from Montreal and Laval did search the water, a spokesperson said.

Although police haven’t ruled out the possibility that Ariel was abducted, there is concern that he may have slipped into the river through a hole in the ice.

Ariel left his home at 12:15 p.m. on Monday to visit a friend a few blocks away, but the friend was not home. It was the first time his parents had given him permission to walk to his friend’s house by himself.

His family alerted police to his disappearance Monday afternoon once they discovered he was missing.

The boy’s father said he held out hope that his son will come home safely.

“I’m talking and thinking about those people I don’t know and who are here to help us, so I have hope, I have hope,” Kouadio Frédéric Kouakou told reporters at a police command post set up to help find his son.

Kouakou, who is a teacher, said he didn’t believe his son would have gone to the river because the family never went there.

He said a security camera at a nearby garage had captured his son’s image, leading him to believe the boy had been heading to visit his friend as planned.

Police said they lifted the Amber Alert late Tuesday night because the criteria to maintain it was no longer being met. Durocher said police decided to use the alert to help spark the missing person investigation and find the woman who saw someone matching Ariel’s description.

He added there was no reason to maintain the alert because there was no indication the boy had been abducted or that his life was in danger.

Issiaka Samassi, who knows the boy’s father, said he joined the search in response to a call from the local Ivorian association. He said searchers were very worried, but still hopeful the boy would be found safe.

“It’s already been two to three days, and (it’s harder) with the snow, but we still have hopes of finding him,” he said in an interview. “We hope to find him at someone’s place, that someone took him in and will come forward.”

He described the boy’s father as a “very likable, very sociable” person who immigrated from Ivory Coast several years ago.

The Commission scolaire de Montréal sent a team of psychologists and social workers to Ariel’s elementary school to support the staff and his classmates.

Ariel is a Grade 4 student at École François-de-Laval in Ahuntsic. The students had been attending classes in a school annex and moved into a new building on Wednesday, said Alain Perron, a spokesperson for the CSDM.

“We are opening the school today, so it was supposed to be a festive day for the students, but instead there is a dark cloud over the school,” he said.

Durocher asked members of the public to check their backyards to make sure the missing boy didn’t jump a fence and fall behind a shed. “That is how people can help us,” he said.

Ariel stands 4-foot-7 and weighs about 90 pounds. When last seen, he was wearing a black hooded coat, grey pants and yellow shoes. Police say Ariel has never run away and has no behavioural problems.

Late Wednesday afternoon, a police spokesperson said they have so far received more than 120 calls from members of the public about the boy’s disappearance, and that all leads are being followed up.

“What might seem like a tiny piece of information to you could be really helpful to the investigators on this file,” Const. Andrée-Anne Picard said.

Anyone who sees Ariel or has any information on his whereabouts is urged to call 911 or Info-Crime at 514-393-1133.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.